On Monday, May 9, 2016, the King County Council has made three District Court appointments to fill vacancies that have recently occurred:

Southwest Division Election DistrictLaurel Gibson was appointed to the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Victoria Seitz.

West Division Election DistrictLisa Paglisotti and Gregg Hirakawa were appointed to the vacancies created by the retirement of Judge Eileen Kato and the appointment of Judge Johanna Bender to the King County Superior Court.

All three of these newly appointed judges will be required to stand for election this November. The filing period for this election ended on Friday, May 20. Brian Todd filed against Judge Laurel Gibson in the Southwest Division; Judges Paglisotti and Hirakawa will run unopposed.

CJE was very active in this appointment process and monitored all stages. Two of the three positions were filled with candidates CJE recommended to the King County Council’s Law & Justice Committee.

Citizens for Judicial Excellence Featured in The Seattle Times

The Seattle Times ran a feature article on CJE’s mission and growing influence in the Sunday, June 23, 2013, edition:

“Over the past several years, the group has emerged as a muscular — and some say unprecedented — force in typically low-profile elections for municipal- and district-court judges in King and Snohomish counties.

National experts say it is one of the only groups in the United States raising money to affect the outcomes of such low-level judicial races.

CJE won four of five races it targeted in 2010, including ousting two incumbent judges with independent-expenditure campaigns that dwarfed spending by the targeted candidates.

What They’re Saying About CJE …

THANK YOU for your leadership this past year and congratulations on your incredible success in reshaping the judicial landscape in King County. The Seattle Municipal Court will clearly never be the same again but the gains made at the District Court level are no less impressive. It’s a short term improvement and a long term wake-up call that a judicial post is not an automatic lifetime job with zero accountability.

Christian SindermanNW Passage Consulting

Over the past several years, the group has emerged as a muscular — and some say unprecedented — force in typically low-profile elections for municipal- and district-court judges in King and Snohomish counties.
National experts say it is one of the only groups in the United States raising money to affect the outcomes of such low-level judicial races.
CJE won four of five races it targeted in 2010, including ousting two incumbent judges with independent-expenditure campaigns that dwarfed spending by the targeted candidates.

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